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Destined to Adapt, or Doomed to Despise?
Gotta deal with it Ahatake was sitting in the bright living room, looking outside the window. It was hard to believe this place could be in the Soul Society. It seemed...so human. There were cars and people in what humans would consider "normal clothing". But that was Yuurei. The Human World in Heaven. Outside in the bustlin sidewalk, people were up and down the sidewalks, as usual. They smiled and waved hello to each other occasionally, before going about their own ways to wherever they were going. Occasionally, they'd stop by one of the officers and nod to them as well... and surprisingly, the officers were nodding back, in a display of politeness. Despite their obvious ferocity, no one seemed afraid of them. One would say that it was a utopia for humanity... if it was not in the Spirit World. Ahatake tore his attention away from the window to look around his new home. He chose it's size but only Midoriko would choose such colors. Looking completely around the living room, which was giant in itself, Ahatake concluded the room must have originally been multiple rooms and the walls were merely taken away. It was a beautiful house indeed and the region they lived in was even more so. But he couldn't shake off a feeling that someone was watching him and his family. "For someone so optimistic, you look a bit concerned." It would've been considered a rare moment, for his white-haired son to step through to greet him. Many times, it would've been the granddaughter, or even the wife who would come to see him in such a state and attempt to quell him. Outside of being with the family, the son would've been busy with something else. But, this time, he was the one that came for questioning... as well as possible counsel. Ahatake started. He hadn't expected company since he thought everyone was out. "I look concerned?" He asked. "To anyone else, it'd be less obvious, of course..." Taiki stated, arms folded his chest and his back leaning against the wall. "But I've been around my father long enough to know him a little better." "I see." Ahatake said. "Well, it isn't much. It's just a...feeling I get from this place. Something off." "Whenever you get "the feeling", you're usually right." He muttered, cocking an eyebrow in skepticism. His eyes scanned over the man carefully. "You mean, beside from the overzealous enforcement?" "It's not them." Ahatake replied. "I feel that someone, three actually, all of which with high spirit energy, are paying annoying close attention to us. The problem is I can't get a glimpse of them. At all." He shook his head, as if trying to rid it of bugs. It's FRUSTRATING!" A small, amused smile played across Taiki's face. "Well... I can't say I'm surprised if they are. The way you spoke to the officers wasn't exactly going to make them go easy on you." He pointed out. "I'm guessing these "three" you're talking about must be at least leaders of these police, wouldn't you agree?" "I'm not so sure." Ahatake replied. "I mean these police have next to no spirit energy. These three have spirit energy on at least your level. And they could just be suppressing it." "Hmmm..." Taiki muttered thoughtfully. "What would be considered the next level, when the police cannot control the situation?" "I'm not sure." Ahatake murmured. "I have yet to look into it." That caused Taiki to sigh, placing a hand on his forehead in exasperation. "It's not obvious? The military!" He supplied immediately. "When the police can't take control of a certain criminal, or group of criminals, the troops have to step in to do it." Ahatake sighed. "So we have soldiers watching us?" "I can guarantee it. Your spiritual energy probably tipped them off to a high state of alertness." Ahatake laughed. "Eh, I have no reason to kill them." He thought for a moment. "Yeah no reason, s'long as they don't take my blade again." "They might." Taiki reminded. "Or worse." "They take my blade, I'll take their heads." Ahatake replied calmly. For a moment, the white-haired boy said nothing, reflecting on what had been said. Ahatake was more than strong enough to contend with a group of ragtag police officers. But if these three were able to easily evade the Kurosaki's senses, then it was obvious that they could pose a threat if encountered in battle. He would have to look further into it in order to figure everything out... Kyuui and Aoi Outside in the fresh air, Aoi was walking down the street with Kyuui. She had never felt more comfortable before and thought Yuurei was actually a fun place. "Hey Onee-chan, what do you think of this place so far?" Unlike her sister's, Kyuui's voice was rather desolate, though not to the extreme. "A bit frightening..." She replied softly, folding her arms across her chest. Aoi put her arm around her sister. "Frightening. This place looks fun! And we're as free as God knows what until we become 21. Then we have to get jobs. Wonder what jobs they have in a place like this?" "I'm more concerned about the cops..." "Concerned about them?" Aoi asked. "Why? S'long as we don't get on their bad side we are ok." "Yeah, but what would be considered actually getting on their bad side? You saw how they shot down those civilians! Sure, they would've escaped, but gunning them down in cold blood..." Kyuui trailed off, unable to say anymore. "That was just 'cuz they did something wrong I bet." Aoi said. She saw a nearby officer. "Why don't we see for ourselves if the are nice?" "Aoi..." A bit of fear crossed Kyuui's eyes, and she stepped back once involuntarily. "I...I don't think we should..." "Well I'll go." Aoi said cheerfully. She was certain the officer's couldn't be all bad as long as she had the right attitude. "Excuse me, Officer-san?" Aoi said as soon as she approached the man. The man simply craned his head towards the girl to reveal a completely masked head, save for the eyes. He remained silent, passing only a simple glance towards the girl before looking the other way. Kyuui stayed right where she was, clearly concerned. "Be careful, Aoi..." She thought. Aoi smiled. "What's with the mask?" She thought. "Kind of odd." "Um..Officer-san, I was wondering is you could is the largest attraction in this city? I'm new here and kind of lost." She chuckled weakly. The man nodded to his left. "Five blocks left of me. You have to make a right at the third one." He instructed calmly. "What's it look like?" Aoi asked. "Is it easy to find?" "The largest attraction isn't hard to miss." Aoi laughed. "Of course." She said, smiling. "Thanks alot." Kyuui finally gained the courage to stand and walk towards Aoi, with the officer still in the range. Still, she couldn't help but give the officer a nervous glance before turning towards her sister. "C'mon Onee-chan!" Aoi said. "Let's go find that place." She said cheerfully. She turned the officer. "Thanks again." The officer simply gave a brief nod in her direction, before resuming his standing patrol, eyes searching for any trouble. Aoi and Kyuui resumed their walk. "I told you they were nice." "...ok, maybe I was just a little anxious..." Kyuui allowed herself to relent under the statement, folding her arms across her chest. Aoi grinned. "Yeah. I just wanna know what was up with the mask he was wearing." "...maybe it's some sort of regulation? I've seen some police in the Human World wear the same things too..." "Still, I couldn't tell from his face whether he was annoyed with me or not." Aoi said. "Well, does that really matter? He was nice enough to give us directions, and he acted like he didn't care most of the time, so I think he wasn't annoyed." "Alright." Aoi said, putting an arm around her sister's shoulders. "So we head to this attraction then?" Kyuui couldn't help but roll her eyes. "If we weren't, then why would you go through the trouble of asking where it was?" She asked, putting on a small smile at her sister's attempt to converse. "To see if the Officer was nice." Aoi replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There could've been other ways..." "Like what?" "...I donno.... a regular conversation?" "How do you suppose I have a regular conversation with a stranger?" Aoi asked, A nervous chuckle escaped Kyuui's mouth, followed by a reply of "Well... 'good morning', or 'good evening' would be a good start..." She said, almost as if she was joking about it. Aoi grinned. "Yeah, as if I would know where to go from there. "Good morning. Nice Weather we're having." and then the cop'd stare at me like I was some sort of idiot." "Like I said... a start!" "If you say so." She said, her arm still around Kyuui and steering her to the right. "Wonder what this attraction is? A theme Park? A Theater? Hopefully a resturant." "Please..." Kyuui muttered. "I'm hoping for something out of the ordinary." "Like what?" Kyuui frowned. "I don't know!" She insisted. "Anything other than a simple theater, restaurant, or theme park! This is the Soul Society, so at least something in this place should be... out of the ordinary..." "I would love to see something out of the ordinary but I want someplace where I can eat!" "Aoi..." Slight exasperation was evident in her sister's tone. "You always think of food first, then everything else later. You should at least think about where we're going first!" "I am thinking about where we're going." Aoi replied grinning. "I am thinking about what I might eat when we get there." "If there's anything to eat there..." Aoi laughed as her stomach growled. Business Adela and Tereya were both heading to what could be described as Yuurei's employment office. The law stated that all citizens over the age of 21 are required to get jobs and Tereya and Adela both hit that number a long time ago. "FUCK this." A paper that had job listings on it was thrown down roughly onto the sidewalk, courtesy of an irritated Tereya. She folded her arms across her chest as she continued walking. "You'd think that they'd be a little more versatile when it comes to shit like this!" She said irritably. "You don't find the job listings satisfactory?" Adela asked calmly. "All of 'em are too damn boring! Apparently, the only thing that would involve some sort of thrilling action is the military, and I have yet to be signing off my loyalty to anything." "Always so violent." Adela said, smiling. She looked down the job listings. "Personally, I see nothing wrong with them." "Of course you don't!" Tereya exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Adela's shoulders for a minute. "You..." She emphasized the word by poking the Arrancar's arm before releasing her. "Try to be a good girl most of the time, so they're more suited to you. I'', however, thrive for danger, combat, and all o' that good shit." "You want danger?" Adela asked. "Go skydiving without a parachute." "Oh, ha ha." Tereya retorted. "If that's the ''best you've got, then you might as well stop now." Adela laughed. "I could have asked you to fight Ahatake-san unarmed while he was furious and in his Ressurecion state." She said, flipping through the job list packet. "Bullshit. He'd never attack me." "Oh yeah." Adela replied. "Well then if you want danger go find it yourself. I'm out of ideas for you." Tereya scowled, eyebrows furrowing out of annoyance. She averted her eyes away from her traveling companion. "Whatever..." She muttered dismissively. "I'll find something." "What to do?" Adela murmured, apparently to herself. Then she looked back up at Tereya. "By the way, how are you going to make Ahatake-san get a job? He doesn't like work that isn't training." "He'd better get a job, or.... well...." Tereya allowed herself to shrug. "Maybe a little trouble with the police wouldn't be so bad. Gives me an excuse to actually do something worth my time..." "You want to do jail time?" Adela asked, puzzled. "Oh, I so want to do jail time..." To emphasize the sarcasm, Tereya put on a false smile, holding her hands up as if she was joyous at the thought. But it immediately shifted into an annoyed glare. "'Course not! They wouldn't be able to touch me before I kill 'em." "Always so violent." Adela echoed her earlier statement. "At least Ahatake-san is better controlled." "Hey, Kurosaki Tereya doesn't surrender for anyone." Tereya countered stubbornly. " "I think I'll work as a hotel valet." Adela said, ignoring Tereya's last statement. "..." Finding herself the victim of rudeness, Tereya chose to remain silent, annoyed look deepening for a moment. "Why don't you just choose a job that pays well instead of one that gives excitement?" Adela asked. "Look, a Security Guard (Hotel Model) gets paid ¥1,000 an hour." "...oh, so you're listening to me, now?" Tereya asked dryly. "Well, because, Adela, I'd rather have a career, something I actually like doing, over a job, something that only gets you money. Something that only gets you money can also be something that makes you dread going to work every day." "Suit yourself." Adela said. checking off "Parking Valet (Hotel Model)" on her sheet and started to walk. "I'm going to go file this. Coming with?" "Sure..." She turned a corner and they were facing a glossy glass building with the letter Y.E.C. written at the very top in solid gold. Adela was stunned. With a display of carefree attitude, Tereya pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Well, are you gonna stand there? Let's get this over and done with." She said to Adela, body obstructing the door so that the Arrancar could go through. Adela shook her head. "These people sure pay no expense when it comes to appearances." She thought. "...ahem." "Oh. Sorry." She said as she walked into the building. Despite the entire outside being made of glass, the inside of the building was rather cool. Adela looked around and saw an empty reception desk. She walk towards it spoke clearly. "Excuse me? Is this where I file for a job?" When a reponse didn't come immediately, Tereya walked over to stand beside her, arms folded across her chest. Adela cleared her throat. "Excuse me?" The woman at jerked and looked at Adela. "I'm so sorry, I was kinda of out of it. What is it you need?" Adela showed the woman the job paperwork. "I'd like to apply as a Parking Valet. Is this where I turn in the form?" "Yes." The woman replied taking the form from Adela and waving an electronic rod over it. She then placed it under the desk in a basket. "You have been filed." She said calmly. "After the form is processed, you may begin working if they accept you. We will call you within the next 10 days." She looked at Tereya. "Are you here for a job as well?" "Yeah..." Tereya said wryly, folding her arms across her chest. "But the job listings that were printed out didn't exactly match my standards." She peered a little. "Do you have an idea of where one could do to get involved in... I donno..." She waved her hand a bit, trying to find the correct word for it. "...combat?" "Combat?" The woman smiled as she flipped through job listings not commonly put on the pamphlet. "How about Military instructor?" "Instructor? That sounds like a little bit too much leading...anything else?" "How about regular military." "Keep goin', honey." Tereya said bluntly, eyes drifting towards the clock for a minute. The woman laughed. "Unless you want to be a moving Kido gun target, you're out of jobs." Tereya huffed. "Well, then, I guess that's that." She muttered, placing her hands in her pockets. "I'm outta here." Turning on her heel, she turned away from them both and started to walk off. "You do know your friend will have to get a job eventually right?" The woman asked. "She has 6 months to get one." "I'll tell her that." Before stopping at the door, Tereya raised a hand up to wave behind her. "If there's some police officers that step up to me and demand why I don't have a job, then don't expect the peace to be kept." She declared. "See ya." With that, she stepped out of the facility and back onto the sidewalk, but only for a few steps before leaning against the building wall to wait for Adela. Adela chuckled weakly. "Tereya, you're gonna have to get a job eventually." "Really?" The tomboyish woman rolled her eyes. "No kidding! When did you ever figure that out?" Adela mimicked the elder woman and sighed. "Guess we should go see what our men are up to." "Hope they had better luck than me..." Midoriko and Kyashi Elsewhere, Midoriko had just arrived at the Injiki residence. She was not old enough to get a job, but old enough not to have a curfew, so she could spend her time how she felt like it. Knock Knock Knock The first one to come to the door, was of course, Kyashi herself. Upon opening the door, she put on a smile. "Mido! What brings ya here?" She asked. "No reason." Midoriko said cheerfully. "Just decided to drop in. Hope I'm not interrupting anythin'." "Oh, no!" Kyashi shook her head, stepping aside for the younger girl to step in. "Ryuka's just busy with the baby upstairs." Midoriko smiled as she walked in. "How old is Kibou anyway?" "Three years. Though, he only chooses to walk by his own choice. You can find him still crawlin' all over the place..." Midoriko giggled at the image in her head. "Can he say anything yet?" Kyashi pursed her lips together. "Well... he can say a little, but just not too much." She muttered thoughtfully, looking up towards the ceiling for a minute. Then, her eyes widened, a smile graced her face, and she bent over to place her hands on Midoriko's shoulders. "He learns fast though! It was when he was just turning two years old when he started to say Mama and Daddy!" Midoriko grinned. "Bet you're proud of him aren't you?" "You bet!" The blonde agreed in excitement. "He'll be speaking fully by the time he's five!" Midoriko grinned. "I wonder how powerful the boy will be when he gets older?" "The new generation always surpasses the old." Kyashi said proudly. "Over the years, he'll be more powerful than me and his old man. Heck..." Teasingly, she reached over and poked her "younger sister" in the forehead. "Maybe he'll give Ahatake a run for his money." Midoriko laughed. "Someone give Tou-san a run for his money? That I'd love to see." She grinned as she sat down in a chair. "Hey, Kyashi Onee-san?" She said, adding the honorific she used to address Kyashi with. "What exactly made you want to move out to this place anyway?" A sigh came from Kyashi's lips. "Trouble." She said softly, sitting herself down in the chair as well. "With all that happened in Soul Society, it was clear that it would've been too stressful to keep living there. So my family allowed me to move here instead, to concentrate on raising our child." "What kind of trouble?" "...stress." "Stress?" Midoriko tilted her head. "Who was the cause?" "...a portion of it was you, kid." Midoriko's eyes widened. "Me? How?" Kyashi sighed, placing a hand to her forehead. "When we fought that last time, I was trying to show you that if you wanted power, you had to destroy all of your obstacles and not share a single regret of it. The obstacle was me, and when you struck the final blow... you were saddened as much as my sister was. It was disappointing, seeing you in such a state..." Midoriko tried to think back. Apparently she had suppressed many of those memories. Trying to recall them was straining. "I see." Was all she said. A frown came across Kyashi's face. "That's it? I see is what you have to say?" She inquired. "I bet you've even given up on what you were trying to pursue, haven't you?" "I must have, because I have forgotten it." Midoriko replied. "It might be something I repressed." Kyashi was silent for a moment, switching to a lying position on the couch she was sitting in. For a moment, she didn't speak, eyes closing in thought of Midoriko's words. "And your tone says you don't even regret turning away from what you desire most." She muttered, a bit bitterly. "You don't even deserve the power that you've been given." "I told you, I don't remember what I desire most. "Apart from having you to myself of course, but that'd never happen." "....is that so?" Abruptly, and with a display of grace, Kyashi flipped herself off of the couch. "Then I think it's time to awaken those suppressed memories of yours, right now." She said firmly. "We're going to have a little sparring match." "Fight you?" Midoriko asked, surprised. "Isn't there some law against that?" "Only if it's not in your own home, in which case, we are." Kyashi jerked her thumb towards the back of the house. "We're going to start in the backyard, in the outside, of course." Midoriko sighed. "I knew I should have stayed home today." "And yet, you came here, anyway..." Kyashi pointed out, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she walked out of the room. "C'mon." Midoriko sighed again as she followed her "older sister" outside. "Don't blame me if you get burned." A Refresher Kyashi said nothing in return, but instead walked until she was a considerable distance away from Midoriko, then turned around and grabbed her sword hilt. Slowly, she unsheathed it, allowing the metallic hiss to ring in her own ears. She lifted the massive blade to balance on her shoulder, eyes looking at her opponent and waiting for the opposing sword to be unsheathed. "Yareyare.." The black haired girl murmured as she unsheathed her own blade. She twirled it, enjoying the feel of the blade in her palm. The blonde moved first. Stepping back a little, Kyashi used a burst of speed to leap towards Midoriko, sword being pulled off of her shoulders within an instant. She swung the blade downwards when she was in range, using both of her hands in order to magnify the power of the strike. Almost instinctively, Midoriko swung her own blade at the oncoming blade of her former mentor and a huge crater was formed as the blades met. Midoriko however, did not stop there, and began to push Kyashi back. The master had to admit the strength that she had displayed was formidable. It seemed just like the situation back at their home again, where the advantage had remained Midoriko's, and Kyashi herself had lost momentum over time. However, as much as she was brutal, the blonde understood the mistakes she had made during that fight. With a little lessons from her own sister, she could think more easily and react a bit quicker to surprises. This would be no different. As Midoriko pushed against her guard, Kyashi allowed herself to fall back in a graceful and seemingly back-stretching backflip. Her legs had swung upwards, colliding with Midoriko's sword wrist. The force knocked the blade from her hands and up into the air. As soon as Kyashi landed on her feet again, she lunged forward and struck her palm into Midoriko's chest to send her crashing away into the ground. The master now had a hint of disgust in her eyes, turning her head to spit before turning back towards Midoriko. Her words alone showed that she was far too relaxed in order to take such a lesson seriously. But, the Yamamura would make sure not to make any mistakes this time. With another burst of speed, she closed the distance in a leaping form, swinging the blade down on Midoriko's fallen form. Midoriko started to get up and vanished with a loud CRACK!, reappearing next to her sword. She picked it up. "Since when did she get so good?" "I'm behind you." Taking the time that Midoriko used in order to pick up her sword, Kyashi had re-appeared right behind her, sword lowered to the ground. This time, it was swung upwards in a diagonal uppercut, her hands tightening with the power begging to be released upon her apprentice. Her eyes widened as she tried to move, but she barely made any distance, and the sword cut into her side, blood spurting out. The shock of the pain triggered more movement and Midoriko jumped back. "She's fast!" She took a stance and charged at Kyashi, a loud CRACK! booming throughout the area, guaranteed to wake up anyone sleeping. As she closed in, she swung her sword down on Kyashi. "She can't dodge this. Shundo is faster than Shunpo! She can't have time!" A sharp clang sounded in both of their ears. Although Kyashi's speed was lower than such of Shundo, her reflexes were much faster. The large Zanpakuto steel preserved her life from being torn apart by the blade that threatened to hurt her. Using the weight in order to force Midoriko's sword to the ground, Kyashi swung another uppercut, this time towards the chest. Midoriko caught the oncoming blade with her bare hand, having hardened her skin with reishi. "Thank you Taiki." She thought for a moment. "THis is a gamble right here." She thought, jumping as far back as possible. "I'm am not a Kido person." She extended her sword free hand. "Hadō number 32! Ōkasen!!" She cried, firing a wide arc of yellow energy at Kyashi. This time, Kyashi allowed herself to stand there and look on as the wave came at her, closing in, closer and closer. As her face illuminated with the color of yellow, she closed her eyes... ...and it enveloped her in its light. After the blast Midoriko has issued stopped she extended her hand again. "Hadō number 33! Sōkatsui!!" She cried, firing a blue blast of energy right after the first yellow blast. The second blast consumed the yellow, the lightning illuminating the entire area with its light and power combined. It was a brutal, but yet beautiful display of combat that would've caused shock and awe to even the most hardiest spectator. Such power would convince that it was unstoppable, ensuring the destruction of what had opposed it. Midoriko was sweating slightly and panting. She was not used to using Kido and it was taxing. "....is that it?" When the smoke finally cleared, Kyashi was revealed crouching behind her own sword. One hand was still gripping onto the hilt, while the other was smoking slightly. Her head was lowered, and she didn't seem to be paying attention to Midoriko, but her words were clearly leveled in her direction. She stood up ever so calmly, her blade at her side. "That's what I expected." Midoriko replied. "I'm not to big on Kido." After that, Kyashi took her steps towards Midoriko, sword ready to slice again as she walked. Midoriko titled her neck. She could don her Hollow mask now. It'd make it easier to contend with the woman. Flash. "This brings back memories..." Kyashi had once again re-appeared behind Midoriko, but this time back-to-back. "Can you see it yet? I was sitting there in the training room, happily greeting you before our fight. Back then, I had put on quite a face of insanity, attacking you as if I was an animal." The scene flashed into Midoriko's eyes as clearly as if she was there and she shuddered. "My aggression prevented me from thinking clearly, and had put myself on the brink of death three times. The first was when you blinded me with your Zanpakuto, then inflicted severe burns to me. The second time, you had attempted to blast me with a Cero point-blank... in my face." "And the third time?" "The third time, you had attempted the same thing... only this time, to my back." Kyashi paused for a moment, letting the memory sink into her own mind this time. "You had asked me if I wanted to beg for mercy... but I refused such a disgraceful offer. You shot the beam, but I made no move to dodge. The Cero had tore through my back and shrank my life-time to only a few minutes." "I see." Midoriko replied. "I don't recall that." She quickly turned to face her mentor's back and grabbed her wrist. Using as much strength as she could muster, she hurled Kyashi into the air. "You don't recall...?" The limited strength Midoriko wielded now was not enough to execute the action to its fullest extent, which gave the more suited Kyashi an advantage. Latching onto Midoriko's arm, she twisted into an arc above the student's head before descending, a leg striking Midoriko's face. As a result, Midoriko was forced to crash into the ground once more, and Kyashi landed elegantly on her feet. "Or... was that the memory you didn't want to remember?" She pressured. Modoriko forced herself, shaking slightly, back to her feet. "I don't know!" She said, sounding frustrated. She placed a hand to her face, and her spiritual pressure began to build up and darked as she formed her mask. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" "Bullshit. It's there." Kyashi said, eyes narrowing as she pointed her blade towards the Hollowfied opponent. "You're just not looking hard enough. Think, Midoriko...!" "Who said I WANT to remember??" Midoriko asked, extending her hand and expelling a fast, golden cero at Kyashi. Remembering the actions from before, Kyashi extended her hand out. The powerful Cero collided with her palm, but stopped in its tracks once it found itself pushing against her own immense strength. With a small grunt, she diverted it away from her. Midoriko however was on the move. The moment the cero had collided with Kyashi she had charged at her and cocked her fist back. She swung it swirling forward at Kyashi's face. This time, the blow struck, and Kyashi reeled back, accidentally dropping her sword in the process. Midoriko twirled hers. How long is this fight gonna go on anyway?" "Till you stop running..." Eyes shadowed by her hair, Kyashi raised the back of her hand to briefly nurse her afflicted jaw. "To keep that memory surpressed clearly means you're nothing but a coward." Midoriko was getting annoyed, though it didn't shown due to her mask. "I don't see what it matters to you what I repress and what I don't." "I trained you myself." Kyashi reminded, raising the blade to a defensive stance. "I taught you, and I'll be damned if I let that go to waste because of your insecurities. I'll rip every nail out of that mental coffin of yours if that's what it's going to take you to remember... even if it meets pushing you to the brink of death." '''"Like you could." Midoriko replied harshly. "If you think I can't, come on. Test me out..." Her mentor challenged. "Burn..Hineko.." Her blade became engulfed in flames and turned black. She twirled the blade and flames danced around her. "So that's how it is..." A small smile came across Kyashi's face. "You may find my Zanpakuto to be a bit...changed...from before." She pointed the blade at her opponent, free hand fingers gripping the blade side. She only muttered two words. "Fight... Kyosuke." Then, the massive sword shrank down into a smaller form, a decorative katana. "Like I care how it's changed." Midoriko replied. Her blade began to glow white as she closed her eyes. "Akarui Hikari.." She murmured and a brigth white light flashed through the area. "Crap!" Once again, that blinding attack came into play, and the blonde was forced to shut her eyes. She pulled the katana into a backhand stance, staggering back a little to prepare herself. The moment the light died down, Midoriko took action. The blades on her blade spike and she charged at Kyashi. "Enkou Musha Ken!" She cried, slashing her blade at Kyashi's shoulder. The sudden burst of air from when Midoriko had stopped in front of her... the heat from the blade... she felt it all, her senses tingling. With a sidestep, she evaded the attack, and with her own high reflexes, she thrust her own katana to Midoriko's shoulder. Midoriko, who had her sight, was able to dodge effectively and grumbled. The flames on her blade spiked again and she shot a large sphere of flame at Kyashi. "Your movements are getting slower and slower..." Kyashi criticized, jumping out of the way and easily avoiding the ferocious blast. Her eyes fell on her target once more without falter. "...have you really grown so weak all of this time?" "Still fast enough to dodge you." Midoriko replied scathingly. With another Flash Step, Kyashi was upon Midoriko once more, forcing their blades to collide in a swordlock. "One can only do so much evasion before they are forced to fight." She said. "Are you telling me that you know your strength is waning away?" "Considering I do not train as much as I used to, I can only assume it is." Midoriko replied harshly. One of Kyashi's hands pulled back from the sword. "Then you've already given up." She said in resolution, narrowing her eyes and staring into her student's golden ones. "What bullshit." That same hand curled into a fist, and with ferocious speed, struck Midoriko's stomach with the force of a sledgehammer. "You have such a weak resolve, it's not even funny anymore." She stepped back, allowing Midoriko fall to her knees and gasp for breath. "I guess I've got no choice now. It's obvious that you're not worthy for the power you've always strived for, kid." She said bitterly. "I'm going to cut you down here and now." Midoriko's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah...like I-I'm gonna l-let that happen!" She grunted, inhaling deeply. The pinnacle of the inhalation was made with a swift slash to the shoulder, cutting deep into the muscle. "As long as you refuse to allow that memory to surface, you are nothing but a coward who runs away from her problems. Why won't you face it head-on and defeat it? Are you that afraid of yourself...?" "Ban...kai!" Smoke enveloped her and her spiritual pressure began to spike. The very air around her began to heat up. Frowning in disdain, Kyashi turned her head away and stepped back a bit, Her hair kept whipping around her, preventing her from seeing properly. A pillar of smoke towered up and Midoriko cut through it. Kyashi momentarily caught a glimpse of her face, her canine's had become fangs's and her eyes had slitted irises. She pulled her mask back over face and held a bright red sword and it caught fire, the fire taking the shape of a cat. "Tenmetsu Hineko." Among the declaration of the name, Kyashi turned her head back to face Midoriko, sword lowered to the side. "So she still can push her body through Bankai, even after all that? Impressive..." She thought to herself, nodding slightly. "Now.." She murmured, almost to herself. "This power..." "Is what you sought after that day." Kyashi finished. "Yes.." Midoriko replied, but again, it sounded as if she was addressing herself. "Power..." She jumped high into the air, and swung her blade down, the flame cat moving like a snake, slithering, towards Kyashi. It was time to go on the defensive. Kyashi kicked into another Flash Step, swiftly evading the cat and readying her sword into a defensive stance. Serious Midoriko swept her blade up and the cat-snake steered with it, turning and chasing at Kyashi. After sliding out of the first Shunpo, Kyashi found herself immediately forced to take another in order to avoid the fire beast's relentless pursuit. Eyes narrowing, she managed to side-step the attack before charging, sword raised. Midoriko moved back, jerking her blade at the same time, causing the cat to speed up. The cat split into four different fire cats, each the same size as the original and continued their pursuit. "Nnngh..." The blonde abruptly stopped, taking to the air in an abrupt turn. Her feet thrusted her into the air, her body twisting and turning to avoid each and every cat that attacked. Her teeth gritted as she Flash Stepped again and again, attempting to get the cats off of her trail. The cat's opened their mouths and fired massive fireballs, the Shikai attack normally fired from the blade. She forcefully descended, slamming into the ground with her feet with a loud THUD. Then, she resumed her charge on Midoriko, much closer than she had been before her ascent into the air. Once again, she raised her blade, eyes narrowing in concentration. Midoriko held her blade up. "Walk into the light." She said as the blade glew white and it flashed as bright as a star. Midoriko closed her eyes as the light spread throughout the area. Kyashi's vision was immediately replaced with nothing but white, and once again she was forced to stop in her tracks. But she held her blade defensively, one hand on the blade and one on the hilt. Midoriko vanished and reappeared behnind Kyashi, placing her hand on her back. "And now..I cut you down." She said, swinging her flaming blade down onto Kyashi's back, deliberately avoiding vital points. It connected. She felt the blade tear through her, the burning pains shooting through her body. All tactical thought immediately ceased for a moment, and her body stiffened. She hunched over a little, expression masked by the hair hanging over her face again. But she didn't fall... not just yet. Midoriko raised her blade again. She wanted to end this battle now. "It ends here!" She said, swinging down here blade once more, this time aiming for Kyashi's left side, the last attack hitting the right. Clang. This time, the blade was intercepted. Kyashi craned her head in order to stare into her pupil's eyes, a rather deadened look in them as she studied her carefully. Despite the pain, she allowed herself to speak clearly two words. "My turn." Then, her sword flashed a brilliant white without warning. "Oh shit!" Midoriko thought as the light from her teacher's Zanpakuto obscured her vision. All it took was a lunge attack to tear through the left lung, free to pierce through flesh and internal organs. The opening wound allowed the blood to flow freely, dripping onto Kyashi's hand. "Y-you're..s-seriously trying to k-kill me!!" Midoriko spat, coughing up blood. A smile came across Kyashi's face. "Wasn't that obvious? I told you that long before this fight even started." She said calmly. "I said that you weren't worthy of this power, as long as you refused to accept yourself fully..." Despite the cruel intentions in her words, her tone was gentle; a sign of mockery for the younger sister. With a hand as equally soft, she reached for the mask and slowly slid it upwards to reveal Midoriko's face. "But... I don't think that a little push will hurt, now will it?" "You really tick me off!" Midoriko hissed, standing up and shaking her hair back, her golden slitted eyes piercing Kyashi's own blue-green ones. Her spiritual pressure began to rise due to her anger. '''"You want to see my power bitch? I'll show you my power!" The flames on her blade spikes and pillared. "Not so fast." Maintaining her grip and distance, Kyashi gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Sweat dripped down her face, and her smile faded immediately. What she was about to do was going to be a move that she would regret doing. She had always been the blind risk-taker, always wishing to meet a problem head-on rather than think tactically. This was one of the times that she feared that it would have a dire consequence involved... even if it was an attempt to wake Midoriko. But this time... she would not allow herself to care. As she stared into Midoriko's golden eyes, Kyashi raised one hand to grip one of the girl's shoulders tightly. Then, her head moved, narrowed eyes closing into darkness. She allowed instinct to take over, all planning gone from her mind as she dove in. Moving away the girls mask, her lips pressed against Midoriko's, heart beating wildly in its own panic. The master had returned the favor, as well as the kiss upon her own death. Midoriko's eyes widened and her mask shattered as she responded to the kiss with a fury. Kyashi's hold on Midoriko's shoulder tightened as she felt the younger girl respond aggressively. But it was not out of passion, but shock. Part of her, however, was hoping that her mind would finally see her dying moments, and thus, the final part of remembrance. And yet still, part of her was still criticizing the fact that the apprentice had not taken the chance to finish off the master... But, then again, that was never the plan. It would be a final attempt to reach through and pull on the anchor that held that last memory in place. Midoriko shuddered as the image of a bright golden light appeared in her mind. It died down and formed into a beam which pierced the blonde woman's heart as her eyes rolled back. Midoriko's shuddering broke her away from the kiss. "That's it..." Kyashi's arms reached out in order to gently embrace the younger girl in a gentle embrace. The sword clattered to the ground, forgotten. No more was there hostility in her voice, but a rather motherly tone to it. "Did it come to you...?" She asked, eyes looking over her former pupil. "Yeah." Midoriko replied as her fangs shrank and her eyes returned to normal has her Bankai faded. "I remember it." Kyashi closed her eyes, one of her hands moving up to gently stroke Midoriko's long hair. "The choice is up to you now..." She said. "Whether you want to accept your past or not isn't my decision to make. But I do hope you make the right choice." Midoriko sighed and looked up at the sky. "The power I felt before that kiss..." She sighed. "It was thrilling. Intoxicating. But I'm not going back to being an icicle." Kyashi slowly released Midoriko, reaching over to pick up her own normalizing sword. "I never asked you to return to a cold-hearted state. I'm only asking you to not run away from a problem, or simply suppress it, thinking it's not going to return. You have to face it head-on, and when you've defeated it, then you can move on." Midoriko sighed. "All right." Then her eyes widened. "By the way, I have a request, and I want you to say yes." "...what is it?" Kyashi questioned calmly, raising an eyebrow. But there was an obvious hint of curiosity in her tone. Midoriko took a deep breath. This was not and easy question. "When Kibou gets older, I would like to marry him." She said this all very fast. The old expression of Kyashi came back, a puzzled look in her eyes, as well as a downcurve in one of the corners of her mouth. "Uh... I didn't catch that... what about Kibou?" She questioned. "I asked if I could marry Kibou when he gets old enough." Midoriko repeated. "It's...hard to explain." There was a pregnant silence. Kyashi's eyes shifted from puzzled to surprised, the curve in her mouth fading. "...Midoriko..." She murmured, a bit of hesitance in her voice. "You're becoming a young woman now, while he's just an infant. He'll be a teen, while you'll be an older woman. Much older..." "We're souls." Midoriko reminded her. "I'll still look like this when he reaches my current age." "..." Now Kyashi looked a little skeptical, folding her arms across her chest. But she couldn't find herself to say anything in particular. "I'm not sure how to explain it." Midoriko murmured. "When we came over earlier, I felt a magnetic pull towards the kid. I wasn't sure and I thought I was feeling it towards you. But now I'm convinced otherwise." "...magnetic pull? Now you're speaking nonsense." "Not a real magnetic pull." Midoriko sighed. "I used that term merely to illustrate it. But I thought it was coming from you so I ignored it." A rather disapproving look crossed Kyashi's face. She closed her arms across her chest, rolling the thought around in her head for a moment or so, until she finally said, "Then what exactly is this "magnetic pull" you're talking about?" She pressured. Midoriko sighed and her eyes wrenched shut as if she was in pain. "I don't feel like explaining it." She said. "Well, I guess that decides it." Kyashi said calmly, eyes opening to a half-lidding position. Her tone was rather non-chalant, despite her next words. "Unless you can give me a better reason than that, I'm afraid I can't say yes." Midoriko scowled. "How about this then? When he's old enough to start recognizing things around him, I'll start hanging around him and watching him, playing with him. Kinda of like an older-sister-per-se. And if he grows to love me as he gets older, then you'll let me marry him. Or I can just train for the next 17 years, fight you and force you to let me." She smiled at the latter option. "Kid..." The blonde shook her head, long hair whipping about her head softly as she did so. "You do realize that feeling has to be mutual, right? All I've heard you talk about was some sort of pull that draws you to him... but I haven't heard you say anything about truly loving him." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you expect me to trust my son with something so vague as that? Of course not." Midoriko rolled her eyes. "My first option involved waiting didn't it? 17 years and we'll see how he turns out. I'll grow to love him. Something in my gut is telling me that. Woman's intuition and all that. And if he loves me, all we need is yours and Ryuka's O.K." She tilted her head. "What does Ryuka think of me anyway? I don't interact with him much. Vaguely remember fighting him though." "Gut feelings can be wrong, too." Kyashi said, in response to the first batch of sentences. She closed her eyes at the mention of her husband. "And, what Ryuka thinks of you? I can't really say... he hasn't mentioned you much. But, I do remember him calling Ahatake your...and I quote... ass-kisser." Midoriko laughed. "That's kinda true. Tou-chan gives me whatever I want. If I wanted...oh say...you dead, he'd do it." She grinned. "Did that little tid-bit of information help any? I would've thought it meant he thought negatively of you." "Eh, I don't think much of him either so it's all good." She said, still grinning. "He can't beat Tou-chan even on his best day so I'm not to worried if he doesn't like me." Kyashi raised an eyebrow. "You've got a big mouth on you." She commented off-handedly. "Got it from Kaa-chan." "Oh... speaking of the ol' bat, how's she doin'?" "Eh same 'ol, same 'ol." Midoriko said as they started to walk back into the house. "Not to happy about getting a job." "Oh, really?" At the thought of Tereya being something so productive to the society, Kyashi chuckled a little and had to raise her hand over her mouth in order to keep it from elevating into outright laughter. "Is she in the 6-month thing yet?" "I'm not sure, but I'd put money on it." Midoriko replied. "She went to get a job when I came here, so I haven't found out." "Ah... knowing her, she's probably already in trouble with the police about it..." Midoriko chuckled. "I bet." She yawned. "Guess I should get home. Got 17 years to kill." She said the last part in a joking manner. "Hey, Mido..." The younger girl found herself once again embraced by the older woman. "Don't get too hopeful. I don't want you running into disappointment out of overconfidence." She said softly. Midoriko breathed in deeply. "I won't be disappointed. I'm sure of it." She broke the embrace and ran out the door. "See ya!" "Heh..." A laughing whisper escaped Kyashi's lips as she watched her pupil go off. "You'd better not. I'll be aiming to teach you another lesson if you do..." Folding her arms across her chest, she walked upstairs in order to check on the kid. She did have her own duties to attend to, after all. The End Previous | Next